The Internet is a worldwide network of computers and computer networks arranged to allow the easy and robust exchange of information between the users of the computers. Hundreds of millions of people around the world have access to computers connected to the Internet via one of the hundreds of Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Content providers place multimedia information, i.e. graphics and sounds, and other forms of data at specific locations on the Internet referred to as web sites that are typically hosted by an ISP. Each web site may have one or more web pages. The combination of all the web sites and their corresponding web pages on the Internet is generally known as the world wide web (web or www).
Web sites may be created using HyperText Markup Language (HTML) to generate a standard set of tags that define how the web pages for the web site will be displayed. Users of the Internet may access content providers' web sites using a software package known as a browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. After the browser has located a desired webpage, it requests and receives information from the webpage, typically in the form of an HTML document, and then displays the webpage's content for the user. The user may thereafter view other web pages at the same web site or move to an entirely different web site using the browser.
Browsers are able to locate specific web sites because each web site, resource and computer on the Internet has a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. Each IP address is a 32 bit binary number, but is typically shown in dotted decimal notion, e.g. 192.145.68.112, to improve human readability. However, IP addresses, even in dotted decimal notation, are difficult to remember and use by people. Uniform Resource Locators (hereafter “URL”) are much easier to remember and may be used to point to any computer, directory or file on the Internet. A browser is able to access a web site on the Internet through the use of a URL. The URL may include a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request combined with the web site's internet address, also known as the web site's domain name. An example of a URL with a HTTP request and domain name is: http://www.companyname.com
In this example, the “http” identifies the URL as a HTTP request and the “www.companyname.com” is the domain name.
Individuals, companies, and other entities that provide content on the web generally want to use their name or one of their trademarks as part of their domain name. Thus, domain names are generally company trademarks, personal names or short phrases concatenated with a top level domain name (TLD) extension (e.g. .com, .net, .org, .us, .biz, etc.). Domain names created in this fashion are much easier to remember and use than their corresponding IP addresses. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN) approves all TLDs and delegates the responsibility to a particular organization (hereinafter Registry) for maintaining an authoritative source for the registered domain names within a TLD and their corresponding IP addresses. There is one organization, or Registry, for each of the ICANN approved TLDs. For certain TLDs, e.g. .biz, .info, .us, the Registry is also the authoritative source for contact information related to the domain name. For other TLDs, e.g. .com, .ws, .org, .net, a Registrar is the authoritative source for the contact information related to the domain name. All domain names are organized through a central domain name Shared Registration System (SRS) based on their TLD.
A process for registering a desired domain name is illustrated in FIG. 1. The communications shown here and in other figures of the drawings are typically communications via the internet, but could be direct LAN or WAN connections, telephone lines, cell phone links, RF or fiber optics connections among others. Customer 100, Registry 102a, and Registrar 101a are typically entities having access to computer installations equipped for internet communications.
The process for registering a domain name with a particular Registry 102a allows a Customer 100 to use an ICANN-accredited Registrar 101a. For example if John Doe wishes to register the domain name “JohnDoe.com”, John Doe may initially verify whether the desired domain name is or is not available by contacting a Registrar 101a. The Customer 100 may make this contact using the Registrar web site 101b and typing the desired domain name into a field in the Registrar web site 101b created for this purpose. Upon receiving the request from the Customer 100, the Registrar 101a may ascertain whether “JohnDoe.com” has already been registered by checking the SRS database of the Registry 102a associated with the TLD of the domain name. The results of the search may then be displayed on the web site to thereby notify the Customer 100 of the availability of the domain name. If the domain name is available, the Customer 100 may proceed with the registration process. Otherwise, the Customer 100 may have to keep selecting alternative domain names until an available domain name is found.
After the Customer 100 submits the registration request, the Registrar web site 101b transmits certain information to the Registry web site 102b regarding both the Registrar 101a and the Customer 100 who will, upon completion of the registration process, be identified as the “registrant” of the domain that is to be officially registered with the Registry 102a. The Registry 102a adds the domain name, the registrant's name and identification of the Registrar 101a to the SRS database kept by the Registry web site 102b which then becomes publicly available in the Registry's WHOIS database.
A Registrar 101a is paid by their Customers 100 for registering the Customers' 100 desired domain names. The revenue of Registrars 101a is thus based in large measure on their traffic of Customers 100 and the number of domain names they are able to register for the Customers 100. However, competition in the domain name registration market has created obstacles to increasing the number of yearly registered domain names by a Registrar 101a. Registrars 101a are thus searching for new ways to increase the number of domain names they are able to register each year. One method for increasing the number of Customers 100 is for the Registrar 101a to advertise on third party web sites. However, applicants have noticed that the owners of other web sites are often reluctant to advertise for a Registrar 101a because they do not want their Customers 100 to leave their web sites and to go to the Registrar web site 101b to register domain names.
There is thus a need to increase revenue for Registrars 101a using new systems and processes that overcome the limitations of current revenue generating techniques. Specifically, there is a need for increasing the number of Customers 100 that register domain names or purchase other products and services through a Registrar 101a. There is also a need for a method for Customers 100 to purchase products and services with a Registrar 101a starting from a third party web site that encourages Customers 100 to continue shopping at the third party web site after completing the purchases from the registrar web site 101b. 